Chapter 59 "Naturally, I will marry no one but her in this life."...
Baozhu got along well with the young novice monk who was in charge of purchasing in the kitchen. Sometimes when there wasn't enough time, Baozhu would go out to buy groceries for the novice monk.
After buying the food, Baozhu would always sit at the wonton stall near the market, waiting for Yu'an to come back.
That day, he happened to chat with Li San, who had a stall at the entrance of the temple.
“I recognize this lady, so I’ll leave these two scallions for free; consider them a gift for her.”
As the man spoke, he stuffed a few cabbages into Baozhu's basket, saying, "Take these too, my wife, take them home and eat them."
Baozhu was puzzled. According to the old lady, Li San, who sells vegetables here, is a very thrifty person who doesn't spend a penny. Why is he suddenly being so attentive to them?
Seeing Li San's embarrassed expression, Baozhu immediately understood and teased, "Li San, you wouldn't happen to have taken a fancy to my girl, would you?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? I didn't... I didn't, I'm just talking nonsense..." Li San stammered, waving away the flies that swarmed around the vegetables.
Baozhu pouted, "What do you mean you don't have anything? I think you do!"
Yu An tugged at Bao Zhu, signaling her to shut up, and took out a few copper coins from her sleeve, placing them in front of Li San's stall.
"Brother Li, consider this as us buying it."
Li San clicked his tongue. "What are you doing, wife? You're being too polite. I don't want any money..."
He went up to return the money, but Yu'an refused. In the struggle, the few copper coins fell to the ground. Yu'an squatted down to pick them up, and suddenly, a hand with distinct knuckles came into her view.
Following the direction, I saw Ji Jinghe, still the same Ji Jinghe, as refined and elegant as ever.
Yu An's expression turned cold. After standing up, she heard him say, "I'll pay."
As he was about to take out his money, Li San was still wondering when he heard Yu An say again, "No need, I'll pay."
She took out a few more copper coins, placed them on the stall, and went home with the pearl.
Li San was puzzled and called out to their retreating figures, "Wife..."
A hand reached out, and after glancing at the gleaming silver coin inside, Li San asked unhappily, "Who are you? Do you know Madam Chu?"
"know."
Judging from his splendid appearance and the expensive materials he was wearing, one could tell that he came from some high-ranking official or noble family in the capital. The more Li San knew, the more disgusted he became. He turned back to his stall, waving his handkerchief and said, "So what if we know each other? I've even spoken to Madam Chu."
"It's obvious she doesn't like you, why are you pretending..."
Ji Jinghe: ...
He reluctantly withdrew his hand, stepped into the courtyard, and followed the rules to enter the meditation room in the backyard.
Because they needed to avoid the presence of men and women, the abbot arranged for Yu'an and the others to stay in a small house in the southeast corner of the backyard. It was separated from the monks' quarters by a courtyard and required passing through a narrow path through a wall to reach them.
It's peaceful and quiet, but when the weather gets cold, it's easy to miss the sun and get very cold.
Yu'an accompanied Baozhu to the kitchen. When she returned, she saw Ji Jinghe standing at the door and felt an inexplicable sense of irritation.
"Yu'an."
She closed her eyes briefly before speaking, "Why are you here? This isn't a place for you. Please leave."
"I'm here to see you," Ji Jinghe said, getting straight to the point.
Yu An: "Are you talking about the divorce? It's just a divorce, the government shouldn't dare to make things so difficult for you."
Ji Jinghe shook his head and answered, "No."
Yu An: "What is that for? If you came here to see me, there's no need for that. As you can see, I have nothing here and can't entertain you."
"It's rare to have some peace and quiet, and I don't want anyone to disturb me. If Lord Ji has nothing else to do, please go back."
Ji Jinghe stood there silently for a long time before finally muttering, "Are you very familiar with the people buying vegetables at the entrance?"
Yu An was stunned for a moment before realizing why he had been standing there for so long.
She scoffed, "What's it to you?"
Ji Jinghe: "I just want to know, from what you just said, it seems that others have helped you a lot. If that's the case, I should thank them properly."
"You don't need to try to get information out of me."
His repeated phrases inevitably irritated people: "We're already divorced. Whoever I'm involved with is none of your business."
"If you came here today just to tell me this, then you can leave."
After saying that, Yu An turned around and went inside, slamming the courtyard gate shut and leaving him outside.
Ji Jinghe looked up at the top of the wall and could only see a corner of the eaves.
Having given up, he had no choice but to turn around and leave.
"This is a gift to thank the two ladies for their care earlier."
Ji Jinghe placed half a bag of loose silver in front of the stall, saying, "Consider the remaining silver as compensation to you. Please move the stall around a bit."
Li San glanced at him. "What do you mean? Are you telling me I can't set up a stall here anymore?"
"Why?!"
Ji Jinghe smiled slightly: "If you feel the money is not enough, I can add more."
Li San glanced furtively at the bag of money, mentally estimating the approximate amount, and softened his voice slightly, "So what if you're rich? You think I'll just carry it? Business at the temple gate is booming..."
...
After an autumn rain, instead of cooling down, the temperature actually rose even higher.
The ginkgo tree in the backyard is growing so well that many worshippers want to hang some prayers on it, but unfortunately they don't know how to write. By chance, they all put their prayers in front of Yu'an and asked her to do it for them.
The next day, when Yu'an and Baozhu were carrying tables and chairs to the backyard as usual, they saw Ji Jing and the monks from the temple setting up a sunshade.
"The old man is so thoughtful. He even built a sunshade so that the girl wouldn't get sunburned."
Yu An remained silent, only asking, "Why is he still here?"
Baozhu: "I heard that the horses were tired, so they rested here last night."
This excuse for incompetence is obviously false, but since the abbot didn't say anything, what could she do?
"Isn't there a shady spot over there? Let's move there."
"Huh?" Baozhu asked in surprise, "Why?"
"Let's leave the shaded area for the pilgrims."
They moved the tables and chairs to the other side and continued writing prayers for the worshippers throughout the day. During this time, Ji Jinghe came to find her, but she ignored him.
"My wife, your handwriting is so beautiful."
A familiar-looking man stood to the side and spoke, still faintly smelling of sweat.
She passed through the nearby villages all day long, seeing many people, and only knew that he lived nearby.
Yu An smiled and was about to get up and go back when someone handed her a bouquet of flowers from behind.
“The wildflowers outside are so beautiful, so I picked some and put them on the table for you, my wife. They’ll definitely look nice.” He smiled simply and had an honest appearance, so Yu’an didn’t find any fault with him.
After receiving it, I said "thank you".
"Will my wife stay here forever? The monks at the temple said she came from the capital."
Yu An nodded: "I'll stay for a few months and then I'll leave."
"Where is my wife going? Back to the capital?"
“I’m going back to Jiangling. My hometown is in Jiangling.”
The two chatted casually without saying much, but after today, more and more people started sending flowers.
From adult men and women to children, the entire temple was adorned with vibrant flowers and lush greenery.
Some people even tried to arrange marriages for Yu'an, and when Yu'an came to the capital as an attendant, the people introduced to her were all influential figures in the capital.
Yu An simply thanked her and politely declined.
Baozhu joked, "Girl, I bet if you stay here for a few months, you won't be able to leave."
"It's just because I helped her, it's not that big of a deal." Yu An packed up her stall and went back, planning to ring the bell after dinner.
To her surprise, when she looked up again, Ji Jinghe was standing on the path she had to take to get back to her room.
“The old man has been watching all day,” Baozhu whispered, leaning closer.
Yu An took a breath, raised her chin and walked forward, pretending not to see Ji Jinghe. When the two brushed past each other, he stepped up and followed beside her without saying a word, just following behind.
When he left after finishing his meal, he did the same thing as usual.
At first, Yu-an didn't think much of it, but later on, she really found it annoying.
“Stop following me,” she shouted.
Ji Jinghe was speechless. He looked at her for a long time before slowly saying, "I just want to know what you do every day."
Yuan:......
“Now that you know, go back.” Yu’an reiterated, “Don’t follow me.”
She said she wouldn't go, and she didn't.
Once Yu An realized that no one was behind her, she instantly felt much more at ease.
Ji Jinghe listened to the bell toll a full 108 times from the foot of the mountain. He hid in the shadows and followed the figure at a distance after he saw it come down from the mountain.
Seeing so many people giving her flowers, and her unchanging smile when she received them, Ji Jinghe immediately ordered people to buy all kinds of flowers and grow them on Jiuwan Mountain.
Cui Hu leaned against the mat, looking at the colorful scene in his front and back yards, and said with a wry smile, "Why are you doing this? Nobody wants you."
Ji Jinghe sat at the table, sipping his wine without saying a word.
Cui Hu: "That day it rained, and she came to my place to take shelter from the rain. She was dressed simply, and it was as if she had given up on the good life in the capital. Are you still going to be so persistent?"
"Naturally, I will marry no one but her in this life."
Ji Jinghe's earnest remark made Cui Hu genuinely laugh for a long time.
He's still young, and he can say such thoughtless things. He said the same thing before, and look what happened now.
“Ji Yinchu, to hear you say such things in this lifetime, your senior brother has not lived in vain.”
As Ji Jinghe poured the wine and raised the glass to his lips, he paused for a moment. "Really?"
He downed the drink in one gulp, then slammed the glass down on the table with a loud crash.
"She was unlike any other woman; she was simple-minded, the most diligent, and the most stubborn..."
"Time will tell, and I will repay her kindness tenfold."
It seems they won't give up easily. Cui Hu bluntly stated, "That was when they still liked you. Now that they don't like you anymore, everything you do is wrong."
"Just like before, she would brave the rain to beg for a pot of orchids for you, but now if she were to think about it, she would definitely feel the most ashamed and would not want to mention it."
Ji Jinghe looked up: "Seeking orchids in the rain? With you?"
Cui Hu slowly raised his glass. "Yes, they couldn't afford to buy any, so I sent them to the mountains to pick bamboo shoots. The rain was just as heavy as it was a few days ago..."
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